


A Very Good Sign

by UbiquitousMixie



Category: The Closer
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-27
Updated: 2012-01-27
Packaged: 2017-10-30 05:31:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/328247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UbiquitousMixie/pseuds/UbiquitousMixie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sharon will wait for Brenda.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Very Good Sign

For the third time in two weeks, Sharon watches Agent Howard brusquely leave his wife’s office, closing the door a little harder than propriety would allow. Though he didn’t slam it, Sharon has noticed that Fritz is typically the type to close it quietly. She doesn’t know the man very well, but she can tell by the rigid set of his shoulders as he storms away from Major Crimes that he’s upset. Again. 

Sharon subtly sweeps her eyes over to the windows of Brenda’s office and watches the woman pinch the bridge of her nose, her full lips nearly puckered with frustration. Brenda pulls open the top right drawer and rifles her hand through the pile of candy. A muscle twitches in Sharon’s cheek; what Brenda does next will either confirm or deny her suspicions. After a brief pause, Brenda snaps back her empty hand and slams the drawer shut. 

Sharon lets out a breath. She was right: Fritz and Brenda are still fighting. If their fight was about something Brenda felt would resolve itself, she would have taken out a piece of chocolate. The captain doesn’t know what they’re quarreling about this time, but it must be bad if even chocolate won’t help. 

Brenda stands at the window, looking out at the busy streets of Los Angeles. Her gaze is distant, and Sharon can tell that Brenda is far, far away. 

Sharon watches this scene with a complicated mixture of emotion. She empathizes with Brenda; she was in the same situation when she was nearing the end of her own marriage. She’s had the same fights and had withdrawn into herself and had even blamed herself, unable to find comfort in anything but the knowledge that it would soon reach its own inevitable resolution. Sharon knows the signs. Like her own marriage, Brenda’s will only get worse until it dissolves completely. 

When it does, Sharon will be ready. 

For now, while Sharon has the excuse of her audit to stay close to Brenda, she will simply observe. When the audit is over and Brenda can no longer use it as an excuse to misdirect her marital frustrations on her in bursts of hostility, Sharon will become her friend. She won’t interfere in the marriage, and she certainly won’t let on about her feelings for the deputy chief, but she will become someone that Brenda can rely on. She’ll be there for Brenda when the fights become more frequent. She’ll be there through the tears and the sleepless nights and separation and the divorce. When Fritz is gone and Brenda moves on with her life, Sharon will be there. 

Sharon has standards. She won’t make a move on a woman who is vulnerable. She won’t become involved with someone who’s married, and she will not be a rebound affair. She can wait—she _will_ wait for Brenda. 

Provenza announces that there’s been a murder, interrupting Sharon from her reverie. She watches the members of Major Crimes roll out, suppressing a smirk when Gabriel is elected the one to notify the deputy chief. He sticks his head into her office and, after a moment of dazed confusion, Brenda nods and follows him. On her way out, Brenda’s chocolate colored eyes dart in Sharon’s direction. The captain’s heartbeat quickens when Brenda nods curtly at her before disappearing down the hall. 

Alone in the murder room, Sharon allows herself to smile. That small acknowledgement was more than she received from Brenda the day before, and she considers this a very good sign. 

After several minutes pass and Sharon is certain that everyone is gone, she picks up her purse and walks into Brenda’s open office. She tugs open Brenda’s top left drawer and, checking once more to make sure she’s alone, reaches into her purse to remove a bag of individually wrapped peanut butter cups. She fills up the drawer, closes it, and stuffs the empty bag back into her purse. 

She won’t tell Brenda that she’s responsible for refilling her candy drawer. She will simply sit in her borrowed desk while she continues her audit and hope that she catches Brenda smiling when she notices them. 

Seeing flashes of momentary happiness on Brenda’s face will be enough to make the long wait a little more bearable. 

\---


End file.
